Vikings defense shocks Chargers as Adrian Peterson shines

Minnesota’s defense showed up big, for the second week in a row, causing all kinds of trouble for the Chargers’ offense, including a hard hit from Anthony Barr that stunned the quarterback and caused the Chargers to take a timeout.

Other notable performances included a 91 yard pick-six for veteran linebacker Chad Greenway, a tremendous performance by the Vikings D-Line including 1.5 sacks by Eversen Griffen and constant badgering by Linval Joseph, Sharif Floyd and Brian Robison.

On the offensive side of the ball, running back Adrian Peterson found the end zone twice, breaking a 22 month TD drought. Zach Line, the full back, found the end zone and came up with some killer blocks at key moments, to open the field for Peterson and on special teams.

Cornerback Xavier Rhodes left the game after a vicious (accidental) collision with teammate Andrew Sendejo. Players from both teams were visibly shaken at the hit and there was concern about a neck injury. It seems strange to say, but the injury was reported as a concussion and many breathed a sigh of relief. There is no word on his return.

Rookie Trae Waynes was forced into action following Rhodes’ injury and came up with an excellent open field tackle (pictured below) and was praised when head coach Mike Zimmer “thought he did good.”

The Vikings, with the win, improve to 2-1 and will visit the 3-0 Denver Broncos next week. Look for the defense to come up big against the high flying offense of the Broncos, led by veteran Payton Manning.